Selling change to every buyer.

You are in the business of selling change. 

You want to improve the life of your buyer. 

To do that, they need to change their ways using your product or service.

But people are naturally resistant to change.

We are neurologically and psychologically wired to resist change.

So the default position of your buyer is to resist you.

To get your buyer to buy, you need to overcome their resistance to change.

To address how they see change through friction, the unknown and their self-esteem.

And yet that is not how startups deal with buyers.

To best understand this, this is how experts think about change.

Successful change depends on the following formula:

To overcome your buyer's natural resistance to change you need to demonstrate:

1. A problem with the current way of doing things. Dissatisfaction with the status quo.
   
   
2. A solution that makes their life better. Positive vision of the future.
   
   
3. A sense that they can take action immediately. First concrete steps to implement.

However, it's not enough to have all 3.

How potent each one needs to be will depend on how much resistance there is.

The further you move through the adoption curve, the greater the resistance.

98% of startups do this...

They try to overcome resistance to change by showing the positive vision of the future.

They sell benefits and hope that these amazing benefits will convince buyers. 

But that only works for those buyers that are in problem-solving mode.

Those aware they have an acute problem. 

Problem that drives them into action.

This works with at most 16% of the target market.

The best startups are working every variable.

They recognise that their efforts should go towards every variable in the equation.

They challenge how buyers view their current situation. 

Educating them on how they have a real problem.

Of course they also work on the benefits of their offering. Making sure they sell a positive vision of the future.

They also simplify and explain the full transformation the buyer will go through. 

Finally, they actively challenge the free resistance factors:

1. Friction - the extra work they need to put in to break old habits and form new ones.
   
   
2. Uncertainty - the fear of the unknown risks they can't comprehend and even foresee.
   
   
3. Self-esteem - the impact change will have on their personal identity that is dear to them.

Through their content, messaging and product, they reduce resistance to change.

Making this practical...

Theory is great. It explains why most startups fail to capture more than 4% of their target market.

But how do you implement this in practice?

How do you sell change to 100% of your market? 

You do this with excellent product and excellent marketing.

There is a 98% chance that while you have an excellent product, you marketing is falling behind.

That is because you need a systematic marketing methodology.

A proven approach to let your commercial team can educate every buyer.

Selling change to your whole market starts with recognising your marketing needs to improve.